Lingbao School

The Lingbao School (), also known as the School of the Sacred Jewel or the School of Numinous Treasure, was an important Daoist school that emerged in China in between the Jin dynasty and the Liu Song dynasty in the early fifth century CE. It lasted for about two hundred years until it was absorbed into the Shangqing and Zhengyi currents during the Tang dynasty. The Lingbao School is a synthesis of religious ideas based on Shangqing texts, the rituals of the Celestial Masters, and Buddhist practices. The Lingbao School borrowed many concepts from Buddhism, including the concept of reincarnation, and also some cosmological elements. Although reincarnation was an important concept in the Lingbao School, the earlier Daoist belief in attaining immortality remained. The school's pantheon is similar to Shangqing and Celestial Master Daoism, with one of its most important gods being the deified form of Laozi. Other gods also existed, some of whom were in charge of preparing spirits for reincarnation. Lingbao ritual was initially in individual practice, but later went through a transformation that put more emphasis on collective rites. The most important scripture in the Lingbao School is known as the Five Talismans (Wufujing), which was compiled by Ge Chaofu and based on Ge Hong's earlier alchemical works. Although Lingbao no longer exists as a distinct movement, it has left influences on all subsequent branches of Taoism. The "yinyang masters" popular in contemporary northern China are defined as Zhengyi Taoist priests following the Lingbao scriptural tradition. The Lingbao School began in around 400 CE when the Lingbao scriptures were revealed to Ge Chaofu, the grandnephew of Ge Hong. Ge Chaofu claimed that the scriptures came to him in a line of transmission going back to Ge Hong's great-uncle, Ge Xuan (164–244). Ge Chaofu transmitted the scriptures to two of his disciples, and the scriptures quickly gained immense popularity. In 471, Lu Xiujing (406–477) compiled a catalogue of all the Lingbao texts, and also was responsible for reorganizing and standardizing Lingbao ritual.